Underclearers for textile fibre roller drafting mechanisms



July 7, 1959 J NOGUERA Q 2,893,065

UNDERCLEARERS FOR TEXTILE FIBRE) ROLLER DRAFTING MECHANISMS Filed April 9, 1957 United States Patent UNDERCLEARERS FOR TEXTILE FIBRE ROLLER DRAFTING MECHANISMS Joseph Noguera, London, England, assignor to Casablancas High Draft Company Limited, Manchester, England, a British company Application April 9, 1957, Serial No. 651,677

Claims priority, application Great Britain July 25, 1956 7 Claims. (Cl. 19-140) This invention relates to under-clearers for textile fibre roller drafting mechanisms and is concerned with the mounting of so-called front under-clearers which usually have a cloth covered cylindrical body and are rotatably mounted between roller stands in light frictional contact with the front bottom drafting roller.

The ideal operating conditions for such an underclearer require that it be held gently pressed against the under-periphery of the associated front bottom roller, whilst the under-clearer must be mounted to rotate freely by frictional contact with the roller and must be easy to remove and replace when necessary. In addition, the under-clearer should preferably also be adjustable, in the fore and aft direction of the mechanism, to obtain the most satisfactory clearer position depending upon the type of yarn produced and the material being processed.

At the present time front under-clearers are usually supported between roller stands either by long leaf springs on the stands, which hold the under-clearer resiliently pressed against a front bottom roller by engaging end pivots on the under-clearer, or by two-armed levers which are pivoted on the stands and which each have one arm shaped to engage an under-clearer end pivot and the other arm counter-weighted to apply the necessary upward pressure.

Both these known forms of end mounting, however, have been found in practice to have operational disadvantages which the present invention is designed to obviate.

Accordingly the invention provides, in a textile fibre roller drafting mechanism, an under-clearer end mounting including a bracket arm which is pivoted to a roller stand on a transverse axis and has an upwardly directed seating for an under-clearer end pivot, and a coil spring which interacts between the stand and bracket arm to urge the seating portion of the latter in an upward angular direction, the arrangement being such that an underclearer can be removably and rotatably supported by a pair of such bracket arms, pivoted respectively to adjoining roller stands, and thereby lightly pressed into frictional contact with a bottom drafting roller.

In order that the invention may be clearly understood and readily carried into effect one embodiment thereof will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure l is a cross-sectional view showing part of a roller stand provided with an under-clearer end mounting in accordance with the invention.

Figure 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken on the line 11-11 of Figure 1,

Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view taken on the line III-III of Figure 2, and

Figure 4 is a part-sectional fragmentary plan view to an enlarged scale, taken on the line IV-IV of Figure 1.

Referring now to the drawings, an end mounting for a front roller under-clearer 1 having end pivots 2, is in the form of a bracket arm 3 the rear portion of which is hollowed out on one side at 4 to form a relatively deep "ice lateral recess in the arm. Formed transversely through the arm and opening into the base of the aforesaid recess is an aperture dimensioned to receive a reduced end of a bush 5 which is then located in the recess 4 with its axis perpendicular to the plane of the arm. Positioned around the bush 5 within the arm recess 4 is a. coil spring 6 having one end 6a bent outwardly in one direction to engage a housing slot in the rim of the arm recess 4 and having the other end 6b bent outwardly in the opposite direction to project from the recess 4 and engage the roller stand 7.

Opening upwardly and slightly forwardly through the top of the arm in front of the recess is a substantially U-shaped seating 8 for an under-clearer end pivot 2. The sides of this seating are conveniently lipped over at the top so that a nylon bearing 9 can be snapped into position in the seating. In front of the seating 8, the bracket arm is curved downwardly at 10 to provide a guide surface which facilitates manipulation. Behind the seating 8, the arm is formed with an upper hump portion from which an ear 11 projects laterally of the arm and on the recessed side thereof. The purpose of this car 11 is to provide a limiting stop for the arm in conjunction with the roller stand 7 as will be later explained.

In order to mount a bracket arm as described on the roller stand 7, the latter is formed with a slot 7a which extends through the stand wall and which is elongated in the fore and aft direction of the stand. The width of the slot is sufiicient to receive a transverse hollow pin or nut 12 on which the bracket arm is mounted, and the length of the slot is such that the aforesaid pin or nut 12 can be moved therealong over the required range of fore and aft adjustment for a supported clearer. Above thestand slot, the stand is provided on each side with a shoulder 7b which limits permitted downward angular displacement of an arm by abutting the arm car 11, and with a further overhanging shoulder 70 which limits upward angular arm displacement by abutting the top of the arm.

For purposes of mounting, bracket arms are made respectively in left and right hand form and each stand is arranged to carry two such arms on opposite side faces, for supporting respectively the adjoining ends of two roller under-clearers which are disposed on opposite sides of the stand. The opposite ends of these underclearers are, of course, similarly supported by bracket arms on the next adjoining stands. The two bracket arms on a stand are positioned each with the recessed face inwardly directed towards the stand and the lateral car 11 located above the appropriate laterally projecting stand shoulder 7b.

To support the bracket arms, the pin 12, which is of hollow tapped form, is extended through the slot 7a in the stand and the collars 5 of the arms are slidably engaged over opposite ends of this pin. Screws 13 having washers 13a thereon are then entered into opposite ends of the pin 12, which thus virtually forms a common nut for the two barcket arms. and these screws 13 are tightened so that the arm collars 5 are each securely clamped between a screw washer 13a and the adjoining rim of the stand slot. Since, as aforesaid, the arm collars 5 are arranged to project slightly beyond the side faces of the arms at each end, this clamping action will leave the bracket arms free to pivot about their collars 5.

The coil spring 6 on each bracket arm which, as aforesaid, has the end 6a anchored to a slot in the arm, is then tensioned so that the opposite spring end 6b projecting from the recess engages under the upper edge of the stand slot 7a behind the arm collar. When thus engaged, the tension of the springs 6 tends to lift the bracket arms in the upward angular direction until the tops of the arms meet'the overhanging shoulders 70 on the stand.

With such an arrangement, it is a simple matter to press downwardly on co-operating bracket arms to enable the end-pivots'on -an-unde'r-clearer to' be dropped intothe arm seatings,the-re-assertion-of the springs on release of the arms then-causing this clearer to press lightly against the under-periphery of a bottom roller 14. Likewiseto'remove a-n under-clearer, the arms are pressed downwardly against the action of thecoil springs, and the cleareris merely lifted from the arm seatings. The abutment'of the arm cars 11 against standshoulders 7b w-illeffecti-vely prevent downward-angular displacementof the arms to a-mextent-which might damage or strain the springs. I

For. the purpose of fore" and aft adjustment .of a supported under-clearer the screws'13 are loosened, and the pins ornuts holding the bracket arms are then-moved in'theirslots 7a-to the new positionaand the screws retightened. If desired the'rear end of-each slot 7a may be extended into a-narrower portion (not shown) to receive the spring ends 6b when the associated pin or nut is-moved to the 'rearmost-position of adjustment.

'1 claim:

1. In atextile fibre roller drafting apparatus the combinationwit-h a roller stand of under-clearer end mounting means comprising a bracket arm, a pivotal support carried on said stand and transversely engaging one end of said arm, an upwardly directed seating provided in the arm forwardly of said pivotal support to receive an underolea-rer end pivot and a coil spring housed in said arm and interacting between the said stand and arm to exert a gentle upward'pressure on the forward end of said arm.

2. A combinationasclaimed in claim 1 in which said spring is housed in'a lateral recess in thatside of the arm-which is directed towards the stand.

, 3. A combination as claimed in claim 2 in which said pivotal arm support includes a bush which extends through saida-rrnrecess and through anaperture in the base thereof to -project on each side of the arm, a hollow internally screw-threaded pin which projects laterally from the stand and over which said bush is engaged and screw means which screws'into'the projecting pin end and is adapted to clamp said; bush against the side of the stand from which said pin projects.

4. A combination as elaimed in claim 1 further comprising laterally projecting stop means on the arm which co-operates with partsof 3 the stand 4 to 7 limit pivotal arm movement.

5. A combination I asclaimed in claim 1 in which said arm seating is .u shaped ,and I provided with a snap-in nylon bearing, and the armend remote from ,said mounting is downwardly curved for finger manipulation.

6. In atextile'fibre roller drafting mechanism, the combination of a-roller stand, havinga fore and; aft extending slot therein with under-clearer end mounting means including left-and right-hand ,laterally recessed bracket arms, a mounting'pin adjustably entending through the fore. and aft slot 7 in said stand and pivotally supporting said arms on opposite sides of the'stand with the arm recesses directed towards the stand, upwardly directed seatingsprovided'in each .said arm, forwardly of the pivotal arm .axis, respectively to receive end pivots of under-clearers extending on each side of the stand, and coil springs disposed one in each said arm recess to intera'ct between the arms and stand and thereby urge the seating portions of the arms in an upward angular direction.

7. The combination asclaimed in claim 6 in which said mounting pin has hollow internally screw-threaded loosely bushediends for. pivotallly carrying the arms, said bushes being of greater axial length than the width of the arms and being clamped against oppositesides of the standby screw means whieh engage in the hollow ends of said pin and are adapted to prevent withdrawal of the arms from the bushes.

References Cited in the'file of this patent UNITED-STATES PATENTS 

